Certified - The CompTIA A+ 1201-1202 | V15 Audio Course

Welcome to Certified: The CompTIA A+ Audio Course, a practical audio-first guide for anyone building a real foundation in IT support and preparing for the CompTIA A+ certification. This course is designed for listeners who want clear instruction, steady pacing, and useful explanations that hold up in both exam prep and day-to-day technical work. We will cover the core areas that matter most, from...

This is the last episode. This episode explains the AI-related support concepts that A+ candidates should understand as AI features become part of everyday tools, applications, and user workflows. You will review common benefits such as faster drafting, summarization, search assistance, and automation, along with limits such as inaccurate output, biased results, privacy exposure, and hallucinated...

This episode explains remote access options that technicians use to support systems without being physically present. For the A+ exam, you should understand methods such as RDP, VPN, SSH, remote assistance, and similar tools, along with the security and usability tradeoffs that come with each one. The episode explains why remote access can make support faster, but also why it must be controlled wi...

This episode introduces scripting and automation concepts that help technicians complete repeated tasks more efficiently while still managing risk. For the A+ exam, you should recognize common script and automation file types, understand what they are used for, and know why scripts should not be trusted blindly. The episode explains how automation can help with tasks such as mapping drives, collec...

This episode covers the communication skills that A+ candidates need because technical work still depends on trust, clarity, and professionalism. You will review listening, asking focused questions, setting expectations, avoiding unnecessary jargon, explaining next steps, and staying calm when users are frustrated. The exam expects you to understand that customer communication is part of the techn...

This episode explains the professional responsibilities that go beyond fixing the immediate technical problem. For the A+ exam, you should understand privacy, licensing, compliance, and evidence-handling basics because technicians often have access to user data, business systems, and sensitive records. The episode explains why support staff should avoid unnecessary exposure of private information,...

This episode covers environmental and disposal issues that can cause system failures or create safety risks. For the A+ exam, you should understand how dust, heat, humidity, electrical problems, and hazardous materials affect devices and support work. The episode explains how dust blocks airflow, heat damages components, humidity can cause corrosion or static issues, and poor power quality can lea...

This episode explains basic technician safety practices that protect both people and equipment during support work. For the A+ exam, you should understand electrostatic discharge, grounding, safe lifting, proper storage, and careful repair habits. The episode explains why static electricity can damage sensitive components, why ESD straps and mats are used, and why parts should be handled by the ed...

This episode covers backup planning from the technician’s point of view, with emphasis on whether recovery will actually work when it is needed. For the A+ exam, you should understand backup types, restore choices, testing schedules, storage locations, and rotation schemes. The episode explains the difference between making copies and building a recovery plan, because a backup that cannot be resto...

This episode explains the change management concepts that A+ candidates need to recognize when systems are updated, repaired, replaced, or reconfigured. You will review planning, approval, risk review, rollback plans, implementation steps, testing, and post-change validation. The exam expects you to understand why even routine changes should be handled carefully, because a simple driver update, co...

This episode explains the support records that help an IT team become more consistent over time. For the A+ exam, you should understand tickets, asset records, standard operating procedures, service level agreements, and knowledge articles, along with the purpose each one serves. The episode shows how a good ticket records the problem, steps taken, results, and final fix so the next technician doe...

This episode focuses on the visible signs of compromise on traditional PCs and how technicians interpret them correctly. For the A+ exam, you should recognize symptoms such as fake security alerts, unexpected pop-ups, browser redirects, disabled tools, ransom messages, and unusual system behavior. The episode explains how these signs often indicate malware infection, unwanted software, or compromi...

This episode explains the signs that a mobile device may be operating outside normal security boundaries, which is a key concept for the A+ exam. You will review rooting, jailbreaking, sideloading, spoofed applications, and permission abuse, along with the risks these conditions create. The episode shows how technicians identify warning signs such as unusual permissions, unexpected behavior, missi...

This episode covers the mobile software issues that combine performance, stability, and usability problems into one support challenge. The A+ exam expects you to recognize symptoms such as frequent reboots, failed updates, unstable apps, poor connectivity, and rapid battery drain, then connect them to likely causes. The episode explains how technicians evaluate recent updates, app behavior, backgr...

This episode explains system-level issues that prevent Windows from functioning normally, including failed services, low-memory conditions, and missing operating system errors. For the A+ exam, you need to understand how startup configuration, storage health, memory availability, and system files all contribute to successful operation. The episode shows how technicians trace service failures back...

This episode focuses on the Windows problems that affect startup and overall system stability, which are common topics on the A+ exam. You will review symptoms such as blue screens, boot loops, freezes, slow logins, and damaged user profiles, and learn how to connect those symptoms to likely causes. The episode explains how technicians separate issues related to hardware, drivers, updates, corrupt...

This episode explains why the web browser remains one of the most exposed parts of a user’s daily workflow and how technicians reduce that risk through configuration and user guidance. For the A+ exam, you should understand browser updates, extension control, certificate awareness, download safety, and privacy settings. The episode shows how malicious extensions, unsafe downloads, ignored certific...

This episode covers the small office and home office network settings that most often create security risk when left at default values. The A+ exam expects you to recognize how router configuration affects overall network security, including SSID setup, password strength, firewall rules, open ports, and remote management access. The episode explains why default credentials, weak encryption, unnece...

This episode explains the proper handling of retired devices and storage media, which is both a security requirement and an operational responsibility. For the A+ exam, you need to understand data sanitization methods such as wiping, degaussing, physical destruction, and secure recycling, along with the importance of documenting disposal actions. The episode shows why simply deleting files is not...

This episode focuses on the mobile security controls that protect devices which are frequently lost, moved, or used outside controlled environments. The A+ exam expects you to understand encryption, patching, content filtering, remote lock and wipe capabilities, and device management controls that reduce risk on smartphones and tablets. The episode explains why mobile devices require strong protec...

This episode explains the everyday habits that reduce risk on endpoints without requiring complex tools or advanced security roles. For the A+ exam, you should understand how patching, screen locking, account discipline, removable media control, and safe usage practices protect systems and data. The episode shows why unattended devices create easy access for unauthorized users, how delayed updates...

This episode explains workstation hardening practices that reduce the risk of compromise through simple but effective configuration choices. For the A+ exam, you should understand how strong passwords, account lockout policies, firmware settings, and service control contribute to system security. The episode shows how these controls prevent unauthorized access, limit brute-force attempts, and redu...

This episode explains the structured process technicians should follow when removing malware from a small office or home environment. For the A+ exam, you need to understand the correct order of steps, including identifying the infection, isolating the system, removing malicious software, updating protections, and restoring the system to a safe state. The episode emphasizes why sequence matters, b...

This episode covers major attack types and vulnerabilities that technicians must recognize even if they are not performing advanced security analysis. The A+ exam expects you to understand denial-of-service attacks, insider threats, zero-day vulnerabilities, injection attacks, and common exposure paths that allow attackers to gain access or disrupt systems. The episode explains what each type of a...

This episode explains the social engineering methods that rely on human behavior rather than technical flaws, which is why they remain effective even in well-protected environments. For the A+ exam, you should recognize phishing emails, voice-based vishing attacks, text-based smishing attempts, spoofed messages, and impersonation tactics that try to trick users into revealing information or taking...